Audio communication headsets typically have a microphone and either one or two earphones. The microphone is commonly retained by a boom or a mouthpiece. For headsets having two earphones, the earphones may be connected by, for instance, a headband or a neckband. Audio is provided from one earphone to the other by an electrical connection between the earphones. Wireless headsets may communicate with a wireless communication hub while wired headsets may have a wire for connecting to an external system, such as a telephone system or a computer.
During use of a headset, it may be desirable to adjust the position of the microphone boom. For instance, a user may seek to move the boom to a desired use position or to a non-use position. A user may also wish to reconfigure the headset for use relative to a given ear as compared to the other.
However, with wires typically passing from the microphone boom and earphone and through or at least into the headband, the joint between the headband and the microphone boom and earphone is often a fixed joint. With that, it is difficult or impossible for a user to adjust the headset to a desired orientation for use or to permit selective application of the headset to one ear or the other.
The prior art has disclosed a number of adjustable boom headset constructions. Adjustable headsets are known with mechanical stops that seek to restrict the movement of the microphone boom while others, such as that disclosed in EP 2 178 275, provide microphone booms that are fully rotatable. United States Application Publication No. 2012/0328119 of Heise also seeks to provide 360-degree rotation of the joint between an earphone unit and a connecting band through an inductive connection therebetween.
Even the combined prior art relating to adjustable headsets has left a number of disadvantages. By way of example and not limitation, previously disclosed headsets often do not permit users to adjust a microphone boom to a given angle and then reliably and effectively lock it in position. Headsets of the prior art also are commonly delicate and prone to malfunction and breakage. Still further, many of the adjustable headsets of the prior art are complex in structure and operation. Where headsets are adjustable, the adjustment mechanisms often are prone to failure or poor performance such that consistently maintaining a desired, properly functioning position is prevented. Even further, adjustable headsets of the prior art often do not provide modularity of the headset components. As a result, users are fundamentally limited in their options for, among other things, component characteristics, repair, and maintenance.